Walmart, General Mills announce regenerative farming partnership
Retail giant Walmart and its wholesale chain Sam’s Club have announced a new initiative with General Mills to bolster regenerative agriculture across the United States.
Together, the companies aim to adopt regenerative agriculture practices on 600,000 acres of land by 2030, representing the approximate number of acres General Mills engages to source key ingredients for its products sold through Walmart and Sam’s Club. Regenerative agriculture is defined by the World Economic Forum as when farming focuses on improving soil health through methods including crop rotation and reduced plowing.
Initial projects will be supported through grants administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and seek to advance regenerative agriculture outcomes across a variety of crops, including wheat, in the Northern and Southern Great Plains. Efforts will target seven U.S. states in the region, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Minnesota, home of General Mills’ global headquarters.
“Through this partnership, we will work hand-in-hand with Walmart and Sam’s Club to help regenerate the acres of land in the key regions where we source ingredients for our shared business,” said Jon Nudi, group president of North America retail at General Mills. “We are excited by the opportunity to bring our products, including Pillsbury refrigerated dough and Blue Buffalo pet food and treats, to Walmart shelves more sustainably, with the help of our merchants and farmer partners.”
Through the program, NFWF will provide financial assistance to local grantee organizations, building out the education and coaching resources needed to help accelerate regenerative agriculture. According to Walmart and General Mills, the objectives are to support the transition to regenerative agriculture production in the U.S. through systems change, and elevate the potential for more resilient yields for farmers through efforts that will help improve soil health, watersheds, biodiversity, climate change and farmer economic resilience.
“We’re committing to making the everyday choice the more sustainable choice for consumers,” said John Laney, EVP, food at Walmart U.S. “This collaboration is an example of how we are working across our value chain on intentional interventions to help advance regenerative agriculture and ensure surety of supply for these essential food products for the long term.”
The planned 600,000 acres puts General Mills on pace to exceed its goal of advancing the adoption of regenerative agriculture on 1 million acres by 2030 and contributes to Walmart’s goal, in collaboration with the Walmart Foundation, to protect, more sustainably manage or restore at least 50 million acres of land by 2030.
Walmart’s sustainability plan was first announced in September of 2020, with the company hitting several milestones since then. In July 2022, Walmart made a commitment to purchase 4,500 all-electric delivery vehicles from Canoo for delivering online orders with zero emissions. In 2022, Walmart crossed the halfway mark toward its emissions goal with suppliers reporting more than 574 million metric tons of emissions reduced or avoided globally.